Professor Jackson Sequel
by Cebad2710
Summary: Getting caught in a wizard affair was not part of his plans for the evening, but he couldn't Mist his way out of this one either. Percy supposed in hindsight, giving two powerful wizards immunity to the Mist was a bad move on his part.
1. A Meeting

Loud hollering filled the air in the dingy pub. Its grimy interior was reflected in its equally grimy patrons. The place reeked of the strong stench of cheap alcohol. Gamblers roared loudly somewhere at the back of the pub, the crowd congratulating the winners and holding back the angry losers. Drunken shouting joined the chaos, yet none of the other patrons paid them more attention than necessary. It was a common occurrence in this crude place.

It was exactly in a place like this where an expensive suit would stick out like a sore thumb.

At the bar sat a young blond man dressed in what appeared to be his finest. His crisp pitch-black suit was perfectly ironed, not a crease out of place. His black dress shoes were shiny and looked like they cost more than the entire pub put together. His platinum blond hair was parted neatly and slicked back. In his pale slender hands, he carried a long cane as black and polished as his suit, its handle was a small knob of silver, intricately branded with a coat of arms no one in the pub could recognise.

The patrons sneered at him from their seats, some snickered with their buddies, a few rowdy ones loudly jeered for " _rich boy to tip-toe back to his bank_ ". The blond man paid them no mind, slowly nursing his untouched glass of scotch. The bartender snorted at him, contempt clear in his dry smirk.

"Yer gonna sit there all day?" the bartender sneered at the young man, putting down the glass he had been cleaning. The young man hadn't moved since he sat there over half an hour ago and he was taking up space at the bar needlessly. Besides, he wasn't in a mood to deal with spoilt rich brats.

The young man looked up from his scotch, meeting the bartender's eyes steadily with piercing grey ones.

"If I have to." Draco Malfoy supplied the oversized bartender with an equally condescending tone. He tapped his cane with his finger impatiently. Potter's going to pay for this. He growled internally and mentally ripped the smug grin off that smug face of an imaginary Potter.

He didn't understand why Potter would want to have a meeting in this godforsaken place. He understood the need for a secure location given his status as an Unspeakable, but couldn't the Head Auror have picked somewhere more civilized? This pub was filled with literally filthy muggles and the grime of humanity. It just made Draco's skin crawl at the mere thought of being in such a place.

And to make matters even worse, Potter was late. Terribly late.

It didn't matter that Potter technically ranked higher than him, the Boy Who Lived would soon become the Boy Who Died By The Bare Hands Of Draco Malfoy.

Draco was once again lost in his own murderous thoughts as he continued his fruitless wait. The bartender rolled his eyes at him but didn't comment further.

"And you," The bartender turned to the patron beside Draco. "Yer gonna hav'ta pay fer that."

The patron beside Draco was just like the rest, unkempt. His rumpled grey hoodie shielded his identity from Draco, who barely spared him a glance. From the corner of his eye, Draco saw the patron pat down his pockets, obviously coming up empty. A soft noise that sounded like a groan came from beneath the hoodie, Draco rolled his eyes. He really didn't get these people, wasting their already meagre money on a fleeting bliss like alcohol and drugs.

Draco heard the metallic thud of something heavy colliding with the tabletop. The rusted bar stool scraped noisily against the unpolished wooden floor with more force than necessary, its hooded occupant already briskly headed towards the exit.

"What the hell! Yer hav'ta pay in dollars!" The bartender yelled angrily after the man who was already gone. Out of habitual curiosity, Draco's disinterested gaze landed on the source of the bartender's confusion.

The innocent gold coin rested on the tabletop, its polished surface glowing even in the weak lighting of the pub. The noise of the pub faded away, Draco didn't even notice he was running until he was out in the cold streets of London's boroughs.

He would recognize that gold coin anywhere. The coin's image was branded into the back of his eyelids, haunting him every time he closed his eyes. How many years of frustration had he spent glaring at the piece of gold, studying each and every dent on its surface, recalling every piece of rapidly fading memories the coin represented.

To solve the mystery of the coin had been his never-ending obsession. Even the choice of heading the Department of Mysteries was heavily influenced by this obsession.

Draco's wide eyes searched the dark streets with an almost crazed urgency. His breaths came out short and rushed, the weight of years of frustration was tightening around his lungs. He was so close to his answers, he couldn't give up now, no, he would never forgive himself if he were to let this chance of getting answers slip away.

He ground his teeth and cursed himself for not noticing the man earlier; he had sat beside the man all night, goddammit!

Then Draco saw it. That grey hoodie.

The man was almost at the bend. If he turned he would rejoin the crowd, lost in the throngs of people forever. He started running again, his muscles burning from the exertion. The pristine suit was now messy and rumpled but for once in his life Draco couldn't care less about it.

"Hey!" Draco's mouth opened without his permission, his voice surprisingly loud for his shallow breaths. The hooded man didn't stop. Draco ran faster, his frantic heart thundering in his ears. The distance between them shortened.

Hundred feet, fifty, twenty, ten, five…

"HEY!" Draco reached to grab onto the hoodie, the desperation in his voice was clear as day. He couldn't let the man disappear, not again.

Draco didn't manage to reach the hoodie. Before his fingers could come into contact with the faded fabric, his arm was roughly gripped in a familiar tight hold. In an all too familiar motion, Draco found himself thrown over the man's shoulder, landing on the cement pavement painfully with a resounding thud.

Draco didn't stop the pained moan that escaped his lips, his features scrunched together as he rolled over in pain. The throw had brought forth, with breathtaking clarity, faded memories.

 _A confident laughter, a mischievous grin, a pair of sea green eyes._

Draco's eyes shot open and searched with frenzy around him. He could now clearly see the face of the hooded man over him. The exact same pair of sea green eyes from his memories stared wide-eyed right back at him.

Draco's face stretched painfully to accommodate the large smile that he donned. He was not crazy, the source and the answer to all his frustrations was standing right in front of him looking exactly like how he remembered. The rest of the world was lost to Draco when at that moment the only thing that mattered was the existence of the man still standing over him.

Screw Potter. Screw his meeting. Screw that sorry excuse for a pub.

Perhaps if Draco were more rational, he would have questioned the strangeness of the man remaining _exactly the same as he remembered_ after all these years. Hadn't he aged at all? Alas, Draco's mind couldn't conjure up any coherent thought other than the reassurance of his own sanity.

"Professor Jackson." Draco breathed, something cold and wet ran down his cheek. He touched his face in confusion, he was crying?

The expression on Jackson's face finally softened. He reached up and pulled back his hood, allowing the dim streetlights to illuminate his angular features. He gripped Draco tightly and helped the boy up to his feet again. In the light, Draco began to notice the little signs of fatigue on the man's face. Dark rings stood out under those stormy eyes and eyebrows drawn together slightly.

"It's Percy now, Draco." Draco's smile grew even wider and almost leaked a new round of tears when the ex-professor's soothing voice reached his ears. Memories of the kind professor flooded his mind; all those times when the professor helped him tide over some of the most vicious accusations from a few of his fellow schoolmates…

Draco pulled Percy into a tight hug, sobbing into the man's shoulder as if he were a teenager once again. Draco couldn't let go, he was afraid that if he even loosened his hold by a tiny amount, the man would fade just like the rest of the memories of him.


	2. A Memory

_"It's Percy now, Draco." Draco's smile grew even wider and almost leaked a new round of tears when the ex-professor's soothing voice reached his ears. Memories of the kind professor flooded his mind; all those times when the professor helped him tide over some of the most vicious accusations from a few of his fellow schoolmates…_

 _Draco pulled Percy into a tight hug, sobbing into the man's shoulder as if he were a teenager once again. Draco couldn't let go, he was afraid that if he even loosened his hold by a tiny amount, the man would fade just like the rest of the memories of him._

Percy returned the hug, albeit less emotionally, smiling softly as he let his student weep away the built up of frustration from over the years. He soothed the young man on his shoulder with a hint of pride. The lost and lonely boy had grown up to be a fine young man it seems, judging from the expensive clothing.

He didn't rush Draco, who was clutching to him desperately. He could guess how the boy felt and in a corner of his heart, Percy felt guilty.

He made a selfish move by giving Draco and Harry a way to remember him. Percy had seen the shadows of Nico Di Angelo reflected in Draco, and as a sort of compensation for his inability to be there for the Italian boy when he needed it the most, Percy made it his mission to help the Slytherin boy.

As Percy noticed the gradual change in the Slytherin's demeanor, he soon too noticed the particularly strong rivalry between Draco and Harry, slowly seeing himself reflected in Harry.

Draco and Harry were polar opposites, as different as two people could ever be, but Percy knew that was why they would compliment each other perfectly. They would always push each other to be better, making them more aware of their own flaws. As they excelled in his class as the year went on, Percy allowed himself to take pride in them, _his_ best students.

When he realized he would have to erase the students' memories of him at the end of the school year, Percy couldn't bear the thought of Draco and Harry losing all memories of him. Out of that selfish desire, Percy carved his name into the two drachmas he gave them, making sure that the both of them would be immune to the effects of the Mist.

And now holding the sobbing Draco, Percy realized his mistake. His selfishness led to this. Draco was consumed by the memories of a man only he could remember.

"Draco." Percy murmured, gently prying the young man from his shoulder. Draco finally released his grip on Percy, however, he didn't move away. He tried to tidy up his appearance, clumsily fumbling with his suit and smudging his tears all over his face. His hands were shaking, and he chuckled almost hysterically, forgetting all the spells that could clean up his appearance in an instant.

His eyes never left Percy's face for more than a second, as if he expected Percy to vanish every time he blinked. Percy smiled sadly, patiently waiting for his ex-student to gather himself again.

"W-why did you leave?" Draco's voice wasn't quite as steady yet, cracking a little as he spoke. Percy swallowed around the lump of guilt in his throat. Actions bring about consequences, and this consequence could have been easily avoided had he followed his orders. Then again, he was never the obedient soldier.

"I wasn't meant to stay." Percy winced at his poor attempt of evading the question. Being cryptic was not one of his talents, he decided. Wizard or not, mortals can never know. Not now, especially not now.

"MALFOY!" A roar came from behind them, the voice was familiar, but the rage in it was not. Percy sharply turned to the source.

"Get away from him." Percy couldn't tell if the demand was for him or Draco but it didn't matter. He quickly put some distance between himself and Draco, pulling out his pen as he did so.

The Boy Who Lived looked like he just came out of yet another war. His dark cloak was torn at so many places it was barely holding itself together. He clutched the right side of his ribcage with a burnt arm, leaning heavily on his left leg. Despite his condition, his wand arm was steady as he pointed the stick at Percy.

A wide range of emotions flashed across Harry's face as he registered the identity of the man before him, shock, disbelief, joy, confusion… anger. His features finally schooled themselves into a menacing snarl. Draco was clearly conflicted; he glanced between Harry and Percy, unsure of what was going on and whose side to take.

"Malfoy!" Harry barked, gritting his teeth. "We've been compromised, get away from the enemy!" Draco seemed to finally snap out of his daze. He scrambled to his feet and backed towards Harry, slowly pulling out his wand from his cane. His expression pained as he aimed his wand hesitantly at Percy.

"I'm not your enemy." Percy said slowly. He wasn't sure of the situation himself but this was clearly a misunderstanding. The sight of his former students pointing their wands at him made him a little sick, and yet a little proud. The two of them are working together just like he had thought they would.

"I don't trust you." Harry spat, wincing subtly around his glare. "Put down your wand and raise both hands in the air." Draco turned sharply to his partner, his gray eyes suddenly fierce.

"That's _professor Jackson_ , Potter!" Draco snapped.

"I was _ambushed,_ Malfoy!" Harry snapped back, his gaze never leaving Percy. "Our meeting was sabotaged. I'm still waiting, Jackson!"

Percy slowly put Riptide on the floor, not that it was a wand per se but they probably didn't know that, holding up both his hands in surrender. Getting caught in a wizard affair was not part of his plans for the evening, but he couldn't Mist his way out of this one either. Percy supposed in hindsight, giving two powerful wizards immunity to the Mist was a bad move on his part.

"Whatever you've got to say for yourself, save it for the Veritaserum." Harry sneered; his wand was still steadily pointed in Percy's face. Percy knew it was all a front. Harry was just barely holding it together. The slight trembling of his arm as he held his broken rib, the stumble in his step and that slightly unfocused look in his green eyes, Percy might have easily missed some of these signs of fatigue had he been slightly younger and inexperienced.

"Take him to the Ministry," Harry ordered Draco. "I'll catch up with you later." Draco's look of apology as he gripped Percy's arm was met with a reassuring smile. Percy sighed and resigned himself to resolving this wizard business. At least, the Gods cannot touch him in the Wizarding world.

* * *

Harry collapsed the moment the two of them Disparated. He gathered the last bit of his strength to send a Patronus for his Healer team. A silent chuckle escaped him as he finally allowed himself to guilty embrace the joy erupting in his chest.

 _He is real_ , Harry repeated in his head. He replayed the past minutes in his head, scrutinizing the image of Jackson's face in his mind, _he's real._ He laughed, the sound far too sharp to his own ears. Soon he was laughing and crying hysterically at the absurdity and irony of his situation.

Draco and he had spent the past decade of their lives looking for this man, this man who had created such a large impact on their lives in the short time they've known him. In this twist of fate, they found him right when they were steadily walking into yet another war. Immediately after the Head Auror was ambushed in a failed assassination attempt no less.

Harry barely registered Ron hurrying towards him with a Healer in tow. He gave the two of them a lazy grin before blacking out in a way of greeting.

* * *

The interrogation chamber, as the sign outside identified it as, was nothing like Percy had imagined it to be. It was a circular courtroom, but clearly it had not been used for its intended purposes for a long time. The rows of empty seats were dusty and the wood unpolished. A single chair stood in the middle of the room, facing a raised podium.

Percy noticed his breath coming out in a cloudy puff. A chill was slowly and unmistakably crawling across his skin as if alive. Despair was slowly creeping into his thoughts, the darkest thoughts kept under careful lock and key rattled in their cages. He glanced up and sure enough, the abominations of Hades' court flew near the ceiling.

Draco waved his wand and a silvery Patronus burst forth from the tip. The silver boa slithered around them lazily, occasionally hissing at the Dementors that dared to float lower. Draco had not uttered a word for the entire journey. Percy didn't blame him. It's definitely hard to trust a man who wiped the memories of all your friends, no matter how much of a good guy this man was.

"It wasn't you, right?" Draco blurted before Percy could sit in the chair.

Draco gave no further clarifications so Percy could only hazard a vague guess as to what Draco was referring to.

"No?" Percy offered, not even sure what he was denying but denying nonetheless because he was innocent to everything wizard, dammit.

Thick ropes erupted from the handles of the chair and wrapped themselves around Percy's wrists, trapping him there. Finally the situation fully registered itself in Percy's mind.

He was in the Ministry of Magic, going to be interrogated with Veritaserum on the suspicion that he was part of some sort of assassination attempt, by two of his former students whom he had idiotically granted immunity to the Mist. _Surrounded by Dementors with not a droplet of water in sight_ , his brain helpfully supplied.

Percy tugged at the ropes; they didn't even budge once. Great, how exactly was he going to get out of this one?

The door to the room flew open and Harry walked in through the door. He had cleaned up now with a fresh set of clothes and bandages peaking out from underneath his collar. To Percy's relief, the two of them were the only ones present.

Harry's face was set in an emotionless mask as he approached Percy. He held an unassuming little glass vial between his fingers. Percy eyed the glassware apprehensively. He knew it was the infamous Veritaserum, one of the potions Chiron had specifically warned them about so many years ago.

Percy had never been exposed to its fabled effects, but he wasn't too enthusiastic about finding out.

Nevertheless, he swallowed the liquid. Percy expected an urge to spill out all his precious secrets, or maybe a violent retching reaction but he didn't even feel the slightest tingle. Percy smacked his lips with a frown and flexed his fingers. Maybe his demigod blood neutralized the potion?

Harry turned sharply with a swish of his dark cloak, heading to the podium while Draco stayed behind to stand at Percy's side.

 _In case I tried to escape_ , Percy thought grimly.

"What is your name?" Harry asked loudly, his voice held such a commanding tone Percy felt compelled to answer as truthfully as possible.

"Perseus Jackson." Percy answered before he could stop himself. Panic rose within Percy, he finally understood the danger that was Veritaserum. There was nothing to fight against. The influence of Veritaserum was intangible; it didn't force him to speak, it took away his will to lie completely.

"How did you obtain information about the meeting between Malfoy and I?" Harry's eyes stared right into his own; Percy couldn't see any trace of the boy he once taught.

"I didn't, it was a coincidence I ran into Draco at the pub." Percy's lips moved again without conscious thought. At least it was providing statements advantageous to his situation right now. Tension visibly eased from Harry's stance, his lips twitched but he schooled his expressions to one of indifference before he could grin.

"What were you doing at the pub?" The tension had not fully drained from Harry's frame. This can't go on, it's only a matter of time Percy revealed something mortals can't afford to pay the consequences for hearing.

"Um, drinking?" and being generally depressed like all mortals when they go to a pub to drink, Percy stopped himself from verbalizing the rest of his answer. Technically, he wasn't lying. His mind raced at the discovery of the loophole, trying to channel a very specific child of Athena as best as he could.

"Why?" Harry's eyes narrowed at the clearly vague answer.

"I heard disappointing news." Percy could feel his panic rising; the direction this interrogation was going wasn't favorable to him. He can't afford to reveal more information. He clenched his jaws tightly together, _think Seaweed Brain!_

"News regarding?" Harry pressed on, tension tightening his shoulders at the unhelpful answers.

Percy's mouth opened again without his permission to answer probably truthfully but a sudden, familiar weight in his pocket distracted him. Riptide. The momentary distraction was all that was needed. Percy could now feel the urge to speak, the urge that hadn't been there before. The Veritaserum didn't like to be kept waiting it seems. The pause had revealed its invisible presence and it was now clawing at his tongue.

Percy bit down on it. It was so much easier now that there was something he knew he could fight back against.

"What news, Jackson!" Harry got impatient as the silence dragged on; noticing the resistance Percy was showing. The new command heightened the urge and Percy couldn't hold back his tongue anymore.

"About the person I was looking for." Percy muttered through his gritted teeth. He clenched his fists. _Hades' asshole._

Draco remained silent beside Percy, feeling a chill run down his spine. His Patronus hissed viciously at the Dementors that were floating closer to the trio, their eerie forms twitched in anticipation at the increasingly tense atmosphere.

"This is going nowhere…" Harry muttered under his breath, burning a hole into the wood of the podium with his glare. "Alright, I'll change this up and get straight to the point." Harry's head snapped up.

"How are you related to Annabeth Chase?"

Percy's eyes widened and before he realized, he was on his feet, pulling and tugging forcefully at his unforgiving bonds. His expression was livid as emotions flooded through his mind.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT NAME?!" Percy roared at Harry, briefly registering Draco physically pushing him back onto the chair. Draco's ice grey eyes were wide with shock and fear. They were not expecting the outburst, Hades, even Percy himself was not expecting his reaction.

But something in him snapped at the mention of Annabeth. Annabeth. Annabeth, who had been missing for more than half a decade. Annabeth, whom Percy had spent more than half a decade looking for. Annabeth. _Annabeth._

"How are you related to Annabeth Chase, Jackson!" Harry repeated, louder this time and more forcefully. He leaned forward, bracing himself against the podium railings. He didn't expect this, he didn't want to believe that Percy had been involved with Annabeth Chase, of all people.

 _Annabeth froze in mid-action of removing her armor, her grin frozen on her face. Her grey eyes followed Percy as he sunk down on one knee. Her chest wasn't moving. Percy was a little worried she wasn't breathing. His own heart pounded frantically in his chest, it was so loud he was sure Annabeth is hearing every beat. He could feel a nervous smile blooming on his face as he pulled out the little velvet box from his pocket._

"Answer me!" Harry raised his voice impatiently, almost yelling at Percy who had suddenly became unresponsive. Percy felt tired. The hopelessness of his search crashed into him and he fell back into his seat. His head fell back against the back of the chair, his dull eyes stared without seeing at the Dementors hungrily circling him above.

"She was my fiancée." Percy breathed. He couldn't lie. Percy knew that even without the influence of the Veritaserum, he couldn't bear to lie about Annabeth. "She had been missing for 7 years."


	3. A Maelstrom

_"_ _Answer me!" Harry raised his voice impatiently, almost yelling at Percy who had suddenly became unresponsive. Percy felt tired. The hopelessness of his search crashed into him and he fell back into his seat. His head fell back against the back of the chair, his dull eyes stared without seeing at the Dementors hungrily circling him above._

 _"_ _She was my fiancée." Percy breathed. He couldn't lie. Percy knew that even without the influence of the Veritaserum, he couldn't bear to lie about Annabeth. "She had been missing for 7 years."_

* * *

An uneasy tension fell over the three of them. Percy looked back down, just in time to catch Draco and Harry sharing a glance. He managed to pull himself out of the dark thoughts just enough to wonder what the look meant. His questioning green eyes darted between the two of them.

"You know where she is." Realization dawned on Percy. His head felt light, he could feel numbness at the tips of his fingers and his legs began to tingle. Percy forced himself to breathe. His features contorted in his attempt to snap out of the shock. He squeezed his eyes shut and focused on steadying his breathing with clenched teeth. He forced his fingers to relax; he hadn't noticed he was gripping the chair handles so tight they were on the verge of breaking.

"We are the one asking questions here." Harry's unfeeling voice made Percy snap his eyes open. Percy was furious. These _wizards_. They knew where Annabeth was and they are refusing to tell him. _Him._ They are keeping Annabeth away from _him_. Percy felt a familiar tug in his gut, the air around him swirled, the water vapor responding to his emotions.

Draco, being the one standing beside Percy, felt the draft. He looked around him for the source but couldn't seem to see any. His boa Patronus flickered, the particles that it was made of momentarily drifted apart. Alarmed, Draco glanced up quickly. Fortunately, the Dementors had not descended from the ceiling.

"Do you know what she is doing for the Rebellion?" Harry's voice betrayed his anxiety as he took in the rage on Percy's face. The question, however, threw Percy off. His anger receded for a moment as he processed the implication. Confusion crossed his face and he frowned.

"No," Percy leaned forward in his chair. "What Rebellion? Annabeth?"

"Jackson I won't repeat myself," Harry said loudly. "We are the ones asking the questions here!"

"That's enough, Potter!" Draco snapped. Both Percy and Harry turned sharply to Draco. It was the first sentence he had said since they began. The blond looked positively annoyed as he fixed Harry with a steely glare. A bead of perspiration ran down the side of his cheek and his Patronus flickered again.

"He's under the Veritaserum for Merlin's sake, this ridiculous interrogation could have stopped a million questions ago." With a quick wave of his wand, the ropes securing Percy to the chair fell apart. A brief moment of relief flashed in his eyes as Draco sheathed his wand back into his cane. The end of his cane came into contact forcefully with the marble floor with a loud clack, as if to make his point.

Percy rubbed his wrists and got up from his chair. It never occurred to him that Annabeth would be in the Wizarding world. This would explain why he never found her, he had never thought of returning to the Wizarding world.

Harry let out a long sigh, his shoulders slumped and his façade dissolved. The tired and injured man he was finally exposed.

"Alright… one last question," Harry stepped down from the podium, walking towards where Percy and Draco stood. Percy raised his chin in defiance as the younger came closer. He was glad he still had the height advantage over his ex-student.

"How did you erase everyone's memories of you except ours?" Percy's jaw slackened, from the corner of his eye, he noticed Draco looking at him expectantly. This was the question he had dreaded, and Harry was making use of the Veritaserum to squeeze a truthful answer from him.

"I…" Percy swallowed, his mouth painfully dry. "The drachma I gave you anchored your memories of me."

"But why erase their memories?" Harry's frustration and confusion shone in his eyes and Percy got a glimpse of the boy he used to teach.

"To avoid situations like this." Percy sighed. "It worked to my advantage though, without you pulling me in for this interrogation, I would still be searching for Annabeth without a clue."

"Let's get out of this room first," Draco muttered, interrupting whatever Harry was going to say. He was perspiring a lot more now; his Patronus had slithered closer to them, circling the three of them with its long body. The Dementors were steadily descending, sensing the weakening Patronus.

Harry nodded and led the three of them out of the room.

* * *

They were at the Malfoy Manor, courtesy of Draco of course. Harry did not have fond memories of the place but it has been the venue of many meetings these days, he was learning to get used to the idea of this place.

Harry was excited. His last year at Hogwarts came rushing back to him. The mysterious professor who had disappeared so suddenly is now here before his very eyes. The fact that the missing professor seems to be closely related to one of the major players of the Rebellion does however, put a damper on the mood.

"Where is Annabeth?" Percy demanded as soon as they stepped into the guest hall. Harry shared a look with Draco, both mindful of the intense expression on their ex-professor's face. This wasn't a matter that should be public knowledge but this was the fiancée of an alleged criminal, it would be passing a chance to gain more information on the enemy if they kept mum?

"Honestly, that is a question we would love to get the answers of." Draco sighed, settling himself onto one of the coaches. He slumped against the soft back of the furniture, trying to look as unintimidating as possible. They were stepping on sensitive territory, one he would rather leave alone. Draco pointedly ignored Harry's disapproving look, choosing to fix his tired eyes on Percy.

"What exactly is going on?" Percy's brows furrowed in confusion. "What is this rebellion that you've been talking about?"

"The Rowle Rebellion. Basically neo-Death Eaters. They are keeping a low profile right now so the public has no idea, but the Aurors are having trouble taking them down." Draco mumbled, moving his gaze to the chandelier above them. "I wonder if they could still keep that up now that they've attacked the Head Auror." Tiny dots of light reflected off the clear crystal onto the ceiling, their forms wavering as the crystals moved to a light breeze.

A light breeze? Ice grey eyes shifted to the large windows shut tightly to their side.

"Malfoy," Draco didn't turn his gaze away from the window at Harry's warning tone, still scanning the glass absentmindedly for a gap the breeze may have sneaked in from. The Unspeakable was usually good at keeping confidential information to himself, but it seems everything has been an exception when it comes to prof—Percy.

"He deserves to know." Draco grumbled, rolling his eyes at the Head Auror. "Haven't you heard? His fiancée's been missing for 7 years."

"You're saying that Annabeth is helping them?" Percy's voice didn't sound right, his tone was a few degrees colder than when he last spoke. Draco turned his gaze back to Percy. The corners of Percy's mouth had turned up stiffly into a mocking semblance of a smile. Draco straightened up from his slouched position almost instinctively.

Draco could feel the breeze now. It was just barely noticeable, a silent, icy cold caress. He felt as if he had been standing on ice, and something large had swum past just below the thin surface.

"She would never." Something heavy bumped against the ice. Once. Twice. Draco stiffened at the rapidly deteriorating atmosphere. _Run._

"Prof—Percy, Annabeth Chase is the second-in-command, if not the mastermind behind the Rebellion. She is definitely devoted to the cause, Merlin she may be the one who came up with it in the first place!" Harry's words were rushed; a hint of desperation was audible as his volume got louder. _Stop._ "She's the lynch pin of their operation and you have to accept that!"

 _No!_ The ice shattered.

Percy was fast, too fast. He had been sitting one moment and the next; he had Harry up by his collar. Draco's breath hitched, his eyes wide and his arms had flown up to shield his face. His heart pounded loudly in his ears and his eyeballs wouldn't move away from that one spot on the coffee table in front of him. He didn't dare turn, didn't dare to face the beast that had erupted from beneath the ice.

"Annabeth. Would. Never." Percy repeated, punctuating each word. The Boy Who Lived glared defiantly back at him through his round glasses, standing his ground as stubbornly as ever. This was probably why Harry had had the courage to stand up to one of the most powerful Dark Wizards ever alone while he cowered in the shadows, Draco mused in fear.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Harry thrust a hand into his robe. He pulled out something white from its thick folds and threw them forcefully onto the coffee table.

They landed right on the spot Draco had been staring at, scattering upon impact. The colorful figures on the spread of photographs moved in an infinite loop. Draco recognized them immediately; he had received the same stack of pictures two days after he had been dragged into this mess.

The photographs all shared the same subject matter, a blond young woman with piercing grey eyes. Percy's grip on Harry's collar slackened in shock as he took in the pictures. The shorter man easily shook off the loose grip, putting some distance between him and the frozen Percy.

The familiar face of Annabeth moved in and out of focus in the various pictures. She never seemed to notice the photographer as she talked in silence with the black-cloaked figures around her. Clad in dark wizard garb, she gestured fiercely and kicked one of the figures beside her in one photo.

Percy's arm fell lifelessly to his side. His stormy eyes were now a glassy green even as his gaze remained fixed on the girl in the photos. The girl had her features, but the fierce glares of hate in her eyes were so foreign. His lips moved, a shaky breath escaped but no sound was heard. Ever so slowly, his hand reached out for the photographs, his fingertips trembling.

Draco recognized that stance. How could he not, he was in a similar state not so long ago. It was a little hard to believe the same man had been positively murderous just a second ago. Still reeling from the temperamental switches, Draco swiftly turned to stand in front of the window, crossing his arms tightly in front of him.

He tried to distract himself by looking at the albino peacocks strutting in the driveway, but his gaze drifted back to focus on the reflection of the scene behind him on the glass.

Percy had picked up one of the photographs, the flimsy sheet quivering, amplifying the shaking of the fingers that held it.

"Annabeth…" Percy breathed, yet his eyes hardened even before he finished pronouncing the name. He shook his head, crushing the photograph and chucking it back onto the tabletop with the rest of its kind.

"It's not her." Percy declared, his voice clear and loud. There was a new sort of determination in his eyes. Percy had squared his shoulders, confidence in every line of his body. Draco turn to face the two at yet another sudden change in Percy' demeanor. It was getting a little overwhelming to keep up with the whirlwind of emotions Percy seems to go through in a second.

"I'll prove it to you." The stormy green in his eyes churned. "I won't let anyone wear her skin and dirty her name like this." There was power in Percy's words, yet they sounded almost pleading. Percy wanted to prove that to them just as much as he needed to prove it for himself.

No one said a word; no one made a move. The air was still as Harry and Percy faced off in front of Draco's coffee table. Draco dully noted the similarities they shared and yet how vastly different they felt.

Harry had indeed matured and grew since his Hogwarts years. He had swiftly risen up the ranks of the Aurors and managed to make a name for himself as the youngest ever Head Auror. He was certainly capable and his sense of leadership was unrivalled. Despite the authoritative front Harry puts up at the Ministry, there are still times when his insecurities would surface and those around him would be reminded that he was still an inexperienced youth forced to take on more responsibilities than anyone his age should be.

Percy was different. Draco knew that Percy was just a few years older but it felt like so much more. Even when Percy was still a professor at Hogwarts, Percy had exuded an air of confidence and power about him that should only come with experience. Or pure ignorance, but that doesn't seem likely.

Finally, Harry heaved a sigh. Percy allowed himself a small smirk of victory, having won the silent battle of wills.

"I still don't trust you." Harry stubbornly said. The frown he was sporting looked just a tad forced. "You wiped the memories of the entire school after you left Hogwarts, why?"

Draco risked a glance at the man who had become somewhat of a close friend of his. That's right, Draco wasn't the only one who desperately searched for any kind of clue their entire seventh year wasn't a mere hallucination.

Percy bit his lip, as if hesitating about his answer. He sat down slowly on the coach, his eyes drifting over to the pictures of Annabeth on the table. One by one, he began flipping the photographs onto their backs so he didn't have to look at them.

"It was a promise, a favor actually, to someone important," Percy began, still flipping the photographs. "I'm sorry I can't tell you more, but please believe me that I'm not the enemy."

All of the photographs were now on their backs, the blank underside of each unassuming. Percy turned to look at them each in the eye, sincerity shining in their clear green depths.

Draco had prided himself in his ability to read people. Being in his line of work, he had found it particularly useful when his attention to detail would reveal new information and push a particular research forward. Now, he searched his ex-professor's expression for any hint of deception, and was glad that he had found none.

 **Thank you so much for all the reviews! I honestly was smiling so much my lip split**

 **Please continue to read and review this story~ Thank you all once again for your lovely support!**


	4. A Menagerie

_Draco had prided himself in his ability to read people. Being in his line of work, he had found it particularly useful when his attention to detail would reveal new information and push a particular research forward. Now, he searched his ex-professor's expression for any hint of deception, and was glad that he had found none._

* * *

The next few days had the Ministry thrown into frenzy. News that the Head Auror was ambushed had somehow found its way to the mass media. Just as anyone would have expected, the papers pounced onto the information like hungry vultures.

The Ministry's mailbox was flooded with requests for exclusive interviews and the gates were constantly crowded with reporters hoping to sneak their way in. The usual swarms of paper plane memos doubled and many workers had sprouted bruises from being bombarded with planes in the lift.

The mailroom staff had been rushing about trying to do damage control with the media when angry letters and Howlers from the public started coming in as well. Loud Howler yells, questioning the competency of a youngster in a position as important as that of the Head Auror, were constantly heard from the mailroom and the staff had taken to wearing Mandrake Muffs.

"Bloody idiots, the lot of them." Ron grumbled as he rubbed his ear where a Howler had screamed in. He had been too late in putting on his own pair of earmuffs when the Howler erupted in his face. He dumped his armful of letters into the fireplace at the side of Harry's office, mumbling even more derogatory names. Harry allowed himself a tired smile at Ron's expense and picked up a pale pink envelope from the top of the mountain of envelopes on his desk.

This one called him a deformed Voldemort's Nipple. That was new, Harry noted dully. He hasn't seen that term being used since the 3164th letter.

"They locked their doors and shut their windows, didn't even dare to say his bloody name. Now they won't shut up with it when slandering their savior." Ron spat, snatching away the letter from Harry's hand angrily. He didn't even spare the pink thing a glance as he gathered more envelopes from the mountain to dump into the fireplace.

Harry had asked Ron why didn't he just levitate the entire bunch into the fireplace. Ron swiftly answered that he wanted the satisfaction of physically dumping them into where they belonged.

It was sort of amusing to watch the angry ginger mumble curses while ferrying the envelopes back and forth with vigor.

The Daily Prophet had been against him taking on the mantle of the Head Auror since day one. Despite their four-page congratulatory feature on the day of his instatement, there was a strong emphasis on his age and experience, contempt and mockery thinly masked in their attempt at controversy.

The news of his ambush had leaked faster than he had imagined. He couldn't even begin to guess where the Prophet obtained their information. Before he knew it, his face was gracing the front page of every newspaper coupled with a lengthy false article of speculation.

"The Boy Who Lived By Luck!" Ginny had shrieked in annoyance when she read the headlines at the breakfast table. "Is that all they can say? You know one of these days, I'm going to fire that Rita Skeeter myself." She chewed her pancake as if it were Skeeter's head.

Harry brought his fingers to his temple, massaging it slowly as he considered the situation.

The Rebellion had changed their tactics. They had been careful to stay in the dark, keeping their attacks random and small-scaled. The Aurors could only quell each seemingly half-hearted attempt when they happened, but couldn't deploy more of their forces to investigate given their scattered nature. With the latest unexpected attack, however, the game pace had changed drastically.

The sudden onslaught had them in chaos. Between keeping the citizens sated and holding back the media, they were abruptly short of manpower to keep things in order and continue carrying out any normal operation at the same time. The implications were truly worrying.

Harry sighed.

A dim dot of yellow light blinked lazily on a small square of parchment under Harry's inkbottle. He stared at it tiredly. Right, there was still that issue.

 _There was still that issue._

The light shifted and crawled across the parchment, stopping near the edge. His fingers had stopped its massaging motion and began a slow tapping on his temple. Ron's mumbling voice continued in the background as an idea slowly blinked into existence the longer he stared at the pulsating yellow light.

* * *

Percy tossed the newspaper back down on the long table, briskly making his way out of the gloomy Drawing Room. ' _THE BOY WHO LIVED BY LUCK_ ' the headlines screamed on the front page, plastered over a headshot of an angry Harry Potter waving away the photographer.

The portraits on the walls followed his movements with disapproving eyes, maintaining their eerie silence until the door closed behind him. Percy could hear their soft whispers through the thick wood of the door, rolling his eyes as words like 'Muggle', 'dirty' and 'Mudblood' were thrown around in their hushed conversations.

Technically, he wasn't even mortal, but he stopped himself from screaming that in their painted faces. Percy self-consciously straightened the grey hoodie he was still wearing. Perhaps he should take to wearing wizard garb again.

What a mess he got himself stuck in, Percy thought to himself, pacing down the hallway towards the entrance of the Manor. Yet this was the closest that he had ever gotten to in his search all these years. He didn't want to believe that the woman in the pictures had been Annabeth, but there was a tiny voice nagging at him. _It makes sense, she was here, and that's why not even the Gods have been able to find her._

Percy shook his head. Whatever the truth was, he wouldn't allow Annabeth's name to be used this way.

He pushed open the heavy front door, stepping onto the long driveway to continue pacing along the yew hedge. An albino peacock flapped its large white wings at him in annoyance when he got too close on his stubbornly straight path.

He was sort of under house arrest now, Percy supposed. Harry and Draco couldn't quite decide what to do with him and was reluctant to let him loose into the public with all that information. Now that he recalled, Draco had been a little quick to offer up his Manor.

 _"_ _The press is going to catch wind of the ambush soon. Your place would be targeted. I could house prof—Percy until things are solid." Draco had butt in with an innocently blank expression._

And that was how Percy ended up with a tracer spell placed on him so the two of them would be alerted if he were to step out of the Malfoy Manor.

It was oddly strange, to be surrounded by nature without feeling the presence of the nymphs. The flora though alive, felt lifeless to Percy. He smiled sadly at a row of rose bushes. Their beautiful blooms were empty. The Wizarding world was Hecate's snow globe. She had been so careful to isolate it completely from the Greek world; even she herself was barred out of its gates.

He slowed down his pacing as he neared a gate of his own. The Manor's wrought iron gates were tall and looming, its dark ornate curls ending in sharp points. He reached to graze his fingers along the cold mortal metal. The gates would dissolve into smoke for anyone but him at the moment but Percy knew just how pointless that precaution had been. The sturdy bars felt fragile to his touch. His hand reached into his pocket absent-mindedly and pulled out Riptide, habitually twirling it in his fingers.

He briefly wondered if this was how Hecate felt every time she peered into the Wizarding world. It was so easy for her to break the glass and just poke her nose into the wizards' business. Yet, it had become some place she had to stop herself from going, simply to keep the delicate balance she had carefully nurtured in this isolated terrarium.

He recalled the day Hecate had gathered them and told them about her little hobby. _A favor_ , she had smiled haughtily at the Head Counselors, _not a quest_. The Gods have not changed; mortals would always simply serve as mildly amusing entertainment to them. A dry chuckle escaped his lips as he caught himself pitying the unknowing wizards, how ironic. He wasn't any different, wasn't he?

A loud crack brought his steadily darkening thoughts to an abrupt stop.

Percy whipped around, almost uncapping Riptide on instinct. He quickly stopped himself when he saw who had appeared, hastily shoving Riptide back into his pocket hoping the other had not noticed. He really needed to get used to the wizards' strange mode of transportation, 'Apparation', as they call it.

It was loud, it was obnoxious and absolutely useless in stealth.

Harry stood in front of the wrought-iron gates, his black robe still fluttering from his Apparation, light glinting off his gold Head Auror's badge. He spotted Percy and marched towards him with purpose.

"Become an Auror." Harry declared the moment he was close enough to be heard. Percy blinked.

"We need manpower and you need information. I'll take you in as an Acting Auror." Harry clarified tersely, pushing up his glasses out of habit.

"Uh," Percy replied, showing off his superior intellect. Without waiting for a smarter response, Harry grabbed his arm and Percy felt the familiar sensation of being squeezed through a tube of darkness. At this point, Percy wasn't sure if he hated Shadow Travel or Apparation more.

Percy immediately recognized the large hall they Apparated into, the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic. The high ceiling and sunny scenery outside the enchanted windows hardly gave off the impression they were miles underground. Golden symbols shifted restlessly on the peacock blue background of the ceiling, changing so fast Percy was sure he couldn't read them even without his dyslexia. Witches and wizards in colorful cloaks milled about, swarms of paper planes zoomed across above their heads. Standing in the center of the hall, was a gleaming gold fountain. Percy's gaze lingered for a moment longer on the centaur reared on his hind legs.

Percy didn't get to witness the grand Atrium the last time he had been brought to the Ministry for interrogation. Draco had Apparated them directly to his office in the Ninth Floor before they took the stairs to the Tenth.

As he followed Harry across the polished wooden floor, he noticed just how much attention they were drawing. Harry's face _had_ been on the front cover of the Daily Prophet for days now.

"Muggle…who's that..." Percy picked out from the noise once again. He really should start wearing wizard robes.

"Mr. Potter! Mr. Potter!" a particularly shrill voice rose above the crowd but Harry didn't turn to acknowledge the call, his steps quickening as they neared the lifts. Percy's eyes scanned the crowd in curiosity. The owner of the voice belonged to a blonde woman with sharp features. Her stiff blonde curls didn't even budge as she jumped up and down to see over the heads of the crowd.

She stopped her jumping the moment her beady eyes zeroed-in on Percy from behind her rhinestone studded glasses. Curiosity and a hint of malice flashed across her face and thin crimson-painted lips broke into a sickeningly sweet smile. A bright light briefly flashed into his face.

Percy quickly blinked away the spots in his vision but the blonde woman was no longer there.

"Percy! Hurry up!" Harry called impatiently from the lift. Jerking his gaze away, Percy quickly rushed to join Harry, frowning at the thought of the strange woman. A few paper planes trailed after him into the thankfully empty lift, hovering patiently above their heads.

"Going up," a pleasant female voice announced. Percy half expected terrible elevator music to start playing when they started ascending, thankfully, the speakers remained silent.

Percy didn't remain thankful for very long. The silence in the lift dragged on and he grew increasingly conscious of its presence. He shifted his weight awkwardly when Harry didn't seem to be making a move to speak.

"Level six, Department of Magical Transport, incorporating the Floo Network Authority, Broom Regulatory Control, Portkey Office, and Apparation Test Center," the voice announced again when the lift lurched to a stop.

Several of the planes zoomed out the moment the door opened, a dozen more flying in to take their place. A small witch hugging a huge box of seemingly random objects stumbled into the lift. Percy backed up quickly to make space in the tiny lift for her. Thick furry earmuffs rested on her ears and stray pieces of hair had escaped her neat bun. She didn't acknowledge either Harry or Percy, only staring in a daze at a spot on the lift wall.

Percy eyed the little lady's thick earmuffs; if his magical knowledge had not failed him those were Mandrake Muffs. He turned to look slightly apprehensively between the box of objects and the lady, hoping the box contained no Mandrakes. He liked being alive and conscious, thank you very much.

"Level three, Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, including the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, Obliviator Headquarters, and Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee," once again the voice announced.

The witch stumbled out of the lift almost on autopilot, bringing along with her almost all the planes still hovering in the lift. Percy caught a glimpse of what looked like a snowstorm further down the hall and gulped. What kind of workplace had indoor snowstorms? A single green paper plane ducked into the lift just before the door closed.

It seems to register the occupants in the lift before taking a nosedive straight onto the top of Harry's head.

"Ow!" Harry exclaimed in surprise, wincing as the plane mercilessly continued its assault until Harry irritably snatched it from the air.

"This is why I hate emergency memos," Harry grumbled as he unfolded the green paper plane. "I am going to have a word with the maintenance staff, they can't just…" His voice died off into inaudible mumbles as he read the memo. Percy glanced up at the planes still leisurely hovering above his head, suddenly seeing them in a new light. He wondered how many of them were emergency memos destined to viciously poke at their receiver's head.

"Bloody hell," Harry cursed, the green memo crumpling with the force of his grip.

"What—"

"Level two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters, and Wizengamot Administration Services," interrupted the voice pleasantly. Percy shot a brief glare at the invisible witch.

Harry marched out of the lift at a pace even faster than before, no doubt spurred on by the contents of the green memo. Percy easily kept up with the shorter man.

They walked past a long line of cubicles, each bearing a different array of newspaper clippings and mugshots on their walls. Most of the cubicles were empty of their occupants but those that were not had their occupants poring over thick files.

One particular Auror had four different colored paper planes taking turns dive-bombing his head. As Percy watched in mild sympathy, two more paper planes that had arrived with them joined in on the party.

"Robards!" Harry barked as he rounded the corner into yet another line of cubicles.

"Here!" A sandy-haired young man bounced up from one of the cubicles, looking around for the person that called him. When he spotted Harry, he visibly paled, almost tripping on his brown Auror's robe when he scrambled over. Robards hastily tugged the creases out of his clothing and stood straight at attention.

"Call back Ceasar and have her get on this," Harry shoved the green memo into Robards' hand. The poor boy paled even more at the irritable tone in Harry's voice, this time really tripping over his robe as he rushed back to his cubicle.

Percy stifled a chuckle at the young Auror's expense. His student has really grown. Ordering people around and all that leadership jazz. In fact, both of his students have matured wonderfully, one leading the Aurors and the other leading the Unspeakables.

Before he realized, Harry had already moved on. Percy lengthened his strides to catch up to the Head Auror. They rounded the corner back to the first line of cubicles, heading towards the Auror who had several emergency memos attacking his head.

There was only two of those still left circling the positively exhausted man. The man tossed the purple memo he was reading into the wastebasket beside his chair and tiredly snatched another just before it could collide with his skull again.

Harry's hand shot out fast as a snake and grabbed the last plane, stopping its attempts at evading the unintended receiver. The man gratefully accepted Harry's offering, relishing in the peaceful absence of paper planes bombarding his scalp.

"Proudfoot, this is Percy," Harry gestured in his vague direction. "I'm recruiting him as a temporary help for the Aurors. I'll need you to get him and his wand listed into the Registry. Point him to my office when you're done, alright?"

The Head Auror gave Proudfoot, what an odd name, an encouraging thump on the shoulder before turning to Percy, his expression slightly more cheerful than when he still held on to the green memo.

"I'm going to explain your presence to Ron, if you still remember him from Hogwarts, because he doesn't remember you." Percy returned the accusatory smile with a sheepish one. "I hope I'm making a right choice in letting you act alongside the Aurors."

Percy didn't miss the brief look of worry on Harry's face and tried to look as reassuring as possible. Percy had promised to find out the truth of the case for Harry and being with the Aurors was a good compromise. The shorter hesitated for a moment longer before nodding to Proudfoot and turning away to where Percy assumed was his office.

"What is your full name?" Proudfoot asked, pulling out a thick unmarked leather folder from the bottom of a stack on his rather clustered table. A small silver marble rolled off the top of the stack and hit a wanted poster pinned to the wall of the cubicle. The haggard looking criminal screamed silently from his mugshot at the disturbance.

Proudfoot flipped open the folder and the pages flipped themselves until it got to a blank form. A peasant feathered quill floated up from its inkbottle and hovered over the parchment, ready to record Percy's answers as they are voiced. Percy answered each of the man's questions as truthfully as he could and was relieved they weren't as invasive as he had imagined.

"May I have your wand please, doing a check of it," Proudfoot held out his hand expectantly, his heavy-lidded eyes scanned the messy cubicle to look for his wand-measuring tools.

Percy stared at the outstretched hand, his mouth suddenly dry. He raised his head to peek above the walls of the cubicles, looking around to make sure no one was paying them any attention. Proudfoot had turned back to look at Percy, slightly confused at the lack of wands in his hand.

Percy snapped his fingers.

Proudfoot's eyes immediately glazed over. His fingers wrapped around nothing and proceeded to measure and weigh an invisible wand.

"Ah what a beautiful wand. Ash, Whiteriver Monster Spine, 12 inches. How extraordinary." Proudfoot mumbled, the quill taking down the imaginary characteristics.

Percy took a mental note of the mentioned qualities to make a dummy wand. He couldn't use a real wand. The last time he had been in Hogwarts, Hecate allowed him some control over the wizard magic that he could channel via an ordinary twig. Despite the blessing from the Goddess of Magic herself, the stick would still be more likely to explode in his face than perform a proper spell. He had felt rather stupid carrying around the twig and claiming it to be his weapon.

"And we are done," Proudfoot declared to Percy, handing him back his invisible wand, his eyes still unfocused. "Walk straight and to your right. Nice meeting you, Jackson."

Percy gave the man one last apologetic smile and heeded his instruction.

 **The plot advances! I have read all of your reviews and I see that you have questions! I am planning quite a lot for this story and it would eventually also explain some of the events in the prequel. BUT I am a lover of mystery and suspense so the reveal will be slow (And really I don't want to write a character monologue explaining everything in one go, where's the fun in that ;)**

 **Thank you for holding onto your patience! Please read and review!**


	5. A Meddler

"-TRUST IN A CHILD TO KEEP ME SAFE? I WANT A PROPER ADULT WHO CAN ACTUALLY HANDLE CRIME TO—"

"-BLOODY GRIFFINS, BLAST-ENDED OFFICIALS, SLIMEY CROOKS—"

Percy almost doubled over in shock when the yells of several Howlers assaulted his ears at once as he opened the door to Harry's office.

"Oh give me a bloody break!" Ron's shout of frustration was almost as loud as the Howlers themselves. He had one hand covering his ear and the other was frantically waving his wand. One by one, the screaming Howlers erupted into flames, they voices garbling out into blessed silence.

"Let's just incinerate the rest of them here before another squad of Howlers assassinate our ears." Harry muttered, rubbing his still ringing ears. Ron grumbled in defeated agreement, both waved their wands. In just a second, the absolute mountain of envelopes simply vanished into ashes, which in turn obediently floated themselves into the weakly spluttering fireplace. Ron waved his wand and muttered spells, carefully bringing the fire back to a less pathetic size.

Percy shifted his weight from one foot to another, patiently waiting for the two Aurors to neutralize the terrifying Howlers.

"So this is the guy huh." Ron finally addressed Percy. He tucked his wand away back into his robes and crossed his arms. Ron certainly had not changed much since his student days. Though, he did look more comfortable now in his own skin as compared to his teenage days. Not an ounce of recognition flashed in his eyes, it was strange but Percy is already far too used to the effects of the Mist.

"To think that Annabeth Chase had a fiancée," Ron shook his head in mocking disbelief. A rather rude insult bubbled up Percy's chest but he swallowed it back down, _he's not talking about my Annabeth_.

"Well whatever, if Harry trusts you, then welcome to the team." Ron continued with a tight smile and offered one of his hands. Percy took it with earnest determination.

"Now that you two are acquainted, our investigative squad is complete. Ron gather your team and we will meet for a briefing on the Ninth in ten." Harry dismissed the both of them, all but chasing them out of his office.

The chamber they chose to meet in on Level Nine was just as dark and mysterious as the rest of the floor. The only source of illumination in the long and narrow room was the blue glow of hovering candles along the edge of the room. The dark-tiled floor was perfectly reflective and looked like a still water surface. A long table and its chairs stood in the center of the room, around which now sat the members of the investigative squad.

It wasn't a terribly impressive gathering. Percy included, there was a grand total of eight members. Harry stood at the head of the table, files and photographs stacked in front of him. Draco, the only non-Auror present, and Ron sat on his left and right respectively. Seamus Finnigan was the only other face that Percy could recognize around the table. He was rather surprised to see the sandy haired young man, Robards, from before. The meek man didn't strike him as particularly capable.

Harry cleared his throat.

"I know you have all been looking into the sprouting Rowle Rebellion since a year ago but with the new revelations this week, I'm afraid we no longer have the luxury of time to resolve the group. With that in mind, I've brought in new members for the squad." Harry said. Percy didn't miss the discreet—attempted—glances at him.

"For the benefit of the new members, Gwent Dearborn," Harry gestured to the thin, almost sickly so, man beside Seamus and then the cheery younger man next to him. "Fergus McKinnon." The difference in aura between the two of them was incredibly striking.

"Our newest information is kindly given to us by the Department of Mysteries and Mr. Draco Malfoy here will continue to support us with information. " Harry nodded at the last two unnamed faces. "Mr. Jean Robards and Miss. Seraphis Meadowes, they are not veterans but I think you would find their abilities valuable. And finally Mr. Percy Jackson, who as of today will be working with us as Acting Auror. I'll further elaborate later."

Harry waved his wand and the files in front of him floated into the air, presenting its contents to the rest of the table. Large bold prints spelt out "Rowle Rebellion" at the top of the page. A detailed timeline was below it in smaller font.

"To catch up our new members, the Rebellion is believed to be lead by Thorfinn Rowle Jr. We had been unable to link many deeds done by the Rebellion until just a year ago but we now know that they have been active since almost seven years ago." The photographs of Annabeth now float up to join the other document.

"Thanks to Malfoy, we now have a picture of the upper echelons of this group. Annabeth Chase. She is already on our wanted list for an attempted terrorist attack on the Department of Mysteries seven years ago but we can now determine that Rowle Jr. was the Unspeakable that gave her access to the chambers in the first place." Harry continued matter-of-factly.

Percy had gone still. Seven years ago. Exactly when Hecate had sent each of the cabin counselors into the magic world as a _favor_ to her. They were carefully kept unaware of each other's tasks for fear of any accidentally falling victim to the wizards' various truth-forcing methods. So Annabeth had been sent to the Ministry then?

"Thanks to Robards here, we were recently able to trace some of her actions before she bombed the Department of Mysteries, she was noted to have communicated regularly with someone named 'Percy Jackson' through unknown magic." Five heads swiveled simultaneously towards the still Percy. Disbelief, distrust and shock clear in their wide eyes. He didn't return any of them, not breaking his gaze away from the looping Annabeths in the floating photos.

"This was incidentally the matter I was going to discuss with you before they ambushed me," Harry added, turning to Draco, who raised an eyebrow at the ridiculous coincidence.

"Then why the hell is the enemy here then?" Seamus Finnigan interrupted, standing up in his agitation. Percy tore his gaze away from the photos and leveled the youth with a frown. Seamus was still impulsive in jumping the gun it seems.

"Because he is not." Surprisingly, it was Draco who answered, a sneer in his voice. "If you put aside your righteous ego and waited a few more seconds, you wouldn't be making a fool of yourself now." For a moment, it seemed as if Draco had reverted back to his snarky teenage-self, fueled by House rivalries. A smile tugged at the edge of Percy's mouth at Harry's exasperated sigh but he managed to keep a straight face.

Seamus's face instantly fumed red but was promptly tugged back down into his seat by Ron before he could fire back a surely heated comeback. The red hadn't left the ex-Gryffindor's face and Percy got just the slightest bit worried that Seamus might suffocate.

"Unfortunately, Malfoy's right." Harry shot the blonde a glare, which was returned in kind. "Percy claims to Annabeth Chase's fiancée but is unaware of any matters regarding the Rebellion."

"What?" Seamus blurted loudly, his face finally returning to its' normal color. Fergus and Seraphis blinked owlishly back and forth between Harry and Percy, completely lost in the development.

"He has already pledged his alliance to our mission and will be a precious source of insight." Harry continued. Percy could feel his mood dropping again from the way these wizards are talking about Annabeth. He held his tongue instead. Now that the facts are laid before him, things may not be as simple anymore.

"How do we know that he's not a spy?" Gwent Dearborn's raspy voice interrupted whatever was about to come out of Seamus's mouth. "Or even if he's capable enough for this?" Dearborn was much older than the rest of those gathered in the chamber, clearly senior to even Harry as an Auror. His bloodshot eyes followed Percy with a similarity to Mr. D.

The inevitable question. Percy hadn't come up with an excuse for it yet. How could he make up something that doesn't expose his inability to do magic of the wizards?

"He taught me," It was Draco again.

"Percy tutored me privately in my final year at Hogwarts. I told him to keep quiet about it since it might affect his other students if they knew he was teaching a Malfoy." Percy whipped his head around to the blonde, hoping his eyes were enough to convey his gratefulness. However Draco was not looking at Percy. Those grey eyes fixed the older Auror in a challenging gaze.

There was a tense moment of silence in the chamber as everyone took in what was just said. Fergus leaned back into his chair and mouthed to Seamus behind Dearborn's back, _Malfoy? Tutor? Really?_ To which Seamus shrugged in reply.

"Uh, sir, what do we do from here?" Robards asked, looking clearly uncomfortable to be beside the still-glaring Draco.

"We are still scoring the site of the ambush for clues so I want Robards and Meadowes to work on tracking the source of their Apparation destination." Seeing that Harry was now barking out actual orders, every pair of eyes turned to him. "Seamus and Gwent, I have a few locations I want you to hit. Bring a few Aurors with you; I'll brief you separately in a while. Ron and Fergus will take patrolling duties for now."

Then Harry turned to Percy, his green eyes fierce.

"Percy, I need you to look over the information we have on the Rebellion. If there is anything, anything at all, that you can gleam from it, please bring it forward."

Percy returned it evenly. He knows what he should do. While it certainly won't do for the wizards to know, but the first step to finding Annabeth would be to figure out what Hecate's mission for her was.

"Come with me Percy," Draco said, standing up. His chair slid smoothly on the dark tiles. Without even looking at Percy, he swiftly left the chamber; the sound of his cane clinking against the floor punctuated his every step. Percy could feel the stares on his back as he traced after Draco. There was an uneasy feeling in the chamber and Percy was glad to close the door behind him.

Draco had already marched straight down the dark corridor, looking right in place with his billowing dark cloak. Percy did a little jog to catch up.

"Thank you for covering me," Percy began once he caught up. "I was really out of excuses—"

"You did the same for me," Draco interrupted. There was a faint hint of a smile on his lips even though he continued his fast pace. " No one remembers it now but you covered for me when I was framed for that wand theft."

Percy blinked at that. He couldn't remember it. Not the specific incident anyway, the young Slytherins had been dragged into quite a number of troublesome incidents after the Battle because of their families' past alliances. He sighed in response. The only reason such young people are now in these high positions is the war they had fought in with their lives on the line.

Before he realized, they had come to a stop before a set of twelve handle-less doors. Without hesitation, Draco pushed open the third door to the left.

The chamber beyond the door was one lined with rows and rows of shelves. It seemed to be a library of some sort yet there was no indication on the shelves at all as to what they hold. They walked along the edge of the wall, and right before their eyes, the endless rows of shelves compressed and suddenly there was an empty space with a table and a couple chairs. A few blue candles floated above the table, bathing it in an eerie blue spotlight.

Draco pulled out his wand from his cane and tapped the compressed shelves.

"Annabeth Chase." He stated clearly, sheathing his wand back into the cane.

Several parchments shot out from way in the back. Zooming across the room like little jet planes, they landed themselves neatly on the table with surprising grace. Percy gingerly picked them up, not even bothering to sit in the chair. He wouldn't be able to sit still anyway.

Draco carefully rounded the table to take a seat across Percy. He spared the documents a single glance—he knew what was written on them like the back of his hand anyways—choosing to observe Percy's reactions instead. There was a sheepish smile on Percy's face as he lowered the parchment he was reading.

"Do you mind translating this to Greek for me? I am not very proficient with that particular spell and English is a little difficult for me at the moment." Draco blinked in surprise at the unexpected request. Percy gave a nervous chuckle and pulled out Riptide to twirl between his fingers. Draco eyed the familiar action but complied with the request nonetheless.

" _Linguam interpretari,"_ Draco made a loop with his wand across the pages. The ink letters shivered and began to crawl across the page like little ants and rearranged themselves into the familiar Greek letters. "You marked our papers perfectly in Hogwarts, I didn't know English was difficult for you." Draco scanned his handiwork, interest piqued.

"I have dyslexia," Percy admitted, sighing in relief that the words are no longer meaningless spaghetti. "Greek happened to be the easiest for me to read. English is fine but I simply don't have the concentration right now to decipher it slowly." Percy gave an absentminded smile and began to pace as he read.

 _Annabeth Chase started working as a Ministry official in 1998, hired during a large-scale influx of employment in an attempt to relief restoration efforts after the reign of the Lord Voldermort AKA Tom Marvolo Riddle. She was employed into the Department of Magical Law Enforcement under the_ _Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects. However, throughout her employment she had been appealing to transfer into the Department of Mysteries. During which she was believed to gain acquaintance of the Unspeakable Thorfinn Rowle Jr. In late March 1999, she broke into the Chamber of Death in the Department of Mysteries and caused a large scale explosion within it that dealt severe damage to neighboring Chambers of Thought and Love. Her target was believed to be the Veil housed in the Chamber of Death._

"The Veil?" Percy voiced out loud as he read. Was that her mission then? Was it in her hands to destroy the Veil, whatever it may be? "Could I see it?"

There was a moment of silence as Draco seemed to contemplate the request. He tapped a finger on the table and chewed his lip.

"Very well." He conceded.

The Chamber of Death as it was called was in ruins. There was in ruins. The square chamber could have once been magnificent but its stone structures are now crumbled and shapeless. The pit in the center of the room had uneven openings, scars of an explosion clear in its stone surface. Yet despite the clearly delapitated surroundings, the stone arch in the center of the pit seemed to remain quite untouched.

The two of them carefully circled down towards the archway, a silvery thin substance shimmered nonchalantly in it.

"This is it. The Veil. All that we've able to gather about it is that it divides the Living and the Dead. It's also the reason we seem to be unable to repair any damage dealt to this place." Draco said. He was perched precariously on one of the crumbled tiers.

A gateway between the the living and the dead, Percy mused. That would make sense that Hecate would want such a thing destroyed. It wouldn't do for a path into the Underworld to be in mortal hands.

" _Come,"_ Percy's head jerked up towards the source of the whisper. The silver continued to swirl innocently. " _Come Prince of the Sea."_

"Don't touch it!" Draco's yell jerked him back into reality. Percy quickly put down the hand he hadn't realized was reaching towards the Veil. Draco had gotten off his perch with a panicked look on his face. Percy chuckled to relief the mood.

"That was dangerous, right, I see." He slowly backed away from the arch. So Annabeth had failed in her mission and was on the run from the Wizards ever since. That would certainly explain why she had not returned to camp but it didn't explain why she would join up with criminals.

"Let's go, it was a mistake to bring you here. It's far too unstable since the explosion." Draco muttered climbing back out of the pit, his brows furrowed with worry.

"It was helpful," Percy tried. "I can begin to picture what happened to her." He hopped the last step out of the pit, closing the door on the whispers that he could still hear calling out to him from deep within the arch.

"How so?" Draco asked as they walked back.

"I had no idea that she was working at the Ministry and I lost contact with her a while before she went ahead and bombed the place. At least, this is filling up gaps for me." Percy smiled faintly as he recalled the last few days he had seen of Annabeth. Through the Iris messages, she was all prepped up for the end of her mission, unaware of the tragic future that awaits her.

A silvery flash of light stopped them in their tracks and the glowing paritcles quickly took the form of a fox Patronus in front of them. Recognition flashed in Percy's eyes at the sight of it. It was Seamus's Patronus.

" _In Hyde Park!"_ Seamus's voice yelled through the snout of the silver canine. " _It's the Rebellion! Requesting backup! Annabeth Chase is spotted within the attackers!"_

With that the Patronus dissolved into thin air, Percy's shocked gaze remained where it used to be. He barely heard Draco yelling at him before a hand grabbed his upper arm and he was tugged through the squeezing darkness of Apparation.

* * *

 **Exposition galore! I'm not dead! :D**

 **Annabeth finally appears next chapter!**

 **Thank you so much for reading! And also to everyone who had reviewed/faved! Hopefully this story is still living up to expectations since both series are churning out new material that I don't plan on including.**

 **Please leave a review!**


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